I think her dress style is very unusual (though not necessarily becoming) but it IS a lovely dress. I thought it might be a Bible, too, but I enlarged the photo and it actually looks like a purse. I understand that she was a religious person so it would make sense if it were a Bible, but I agree that it's an odd way to hold a purse. Almost as if she's showing it off except from what I know of her, she wasn't that kind of person.

I usually go over old family photos with a fine-tooth comb to pull out any and every scrap of information I can find. But I never noticed Elvira's skin in this photo! That's so strange to me. I don't know if the photo was retouched or not -- it may have been.

Your question of her age sent me on a little newspaper hunt today to see if I could find images of similar dresses to determine the year. Then I remembered a dated photo of another great-grandmother in a similar style dress. I think the year may have been 1929 which means Elvira would have been about 75. She became senile in her later years but I don't know at what age her family started to notice changes. She died at the age of 88.

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Sometimes I want to jump back in time, into the lives of my ancestors. Not to stay, of course -- too many modern conveniences I'd rather not do without -- but to meet them and watch their interactions with each other. Since I can't do that, I spend time learning about them and the times in which they lived. I look forward to meeting them. I've been seriously searching for my ancestors for nearly 8 years. I plan to continue indefinitely.
If you think we might have ancestors in common or you'd like to contact me for any other reason, please email me at myancestorsandme @ gmail.com.